Offshore facilities generate nearly a third of the energy used in the U.S., and they have the potential to provide significantly more energy both with oil and gas and with renewable sources including wind, wave, current and thermal energy. The challenge in the future will be to produce this energy at a minimal cost and with minimal impact to the environment. Conventional anchors for offshore facilities are not very efficient, essentially requiring that a load near their desired capacity be applied during installation at considerable expense and environmental impact, when in service, it is unlikely that the anchor will ever experience a load that large. Additionally, the installation of conventional anchors generally requires multiple construction, support, and surveying vessels to be accomplished.
Accordingly, an improved anchor is needed that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional anchors.